US State Department denounces comments by far-right Israeli officials on resettlement of Palestinians
The US State Department on Tuesday rejected comments by far-right Israeli officials —Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — calling for the resettlement of Gazans outside of Gaza, denouncing them as "inflammatory and irresponsible. We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately," State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement.
Miller noted in the statement that the department has been "clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel. That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world," he said.
The State Department’s comments come after Israeli cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition made remarks advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
On Sunday, Smotrich, called for Palestinian residents to leave the Gaza strip, making way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom," according to Reuters.
Ben Gvir expressed support for resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip abroad, declaring that the war presents an “opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza” during a political meeting.
Ben-Gvir says Israel is not ‘another star on the American flag’
The far-right Israeli national security minister’s comments came after he was criticised by name by the US State Department for encouraging the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “The United States is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the State of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza,” Ben-Gvir wrote in a social media post.
Blast in Beirut risks triggering a wider war
A blown-out building in the Lebanese capital flashed on local TV channels as plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky. Hamas said this was the aftermath of an Israeli drone strike that killed one of its most senior officials, Saleh Al-Arouri, and several other members.
The Israeli military has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment on the reports. If true, Arouri would be the most senior Hamas official killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
In addition to dealing a blow to Hamas’ leadership, the apparent attack also risks further broadening the arena of the Israel-Hamas conflict. It would mark the biggest Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital since the 2006 war between the two countries.
The apparent strike hit a popular neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which are also a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah. It reportedly struck a Hamas office, killing Arouri — one of the founders of the group’s military wing — during a meeting.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called it a “new Israeli crime that aims to drag Lebanon into a new phrase in confrontations,” referring to the ongoing, months-long tit-for-tat conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the Lebanon-Israel border region.
Israel not claiming responsibility
Israel has "not taken responsibility" for the attack that killed a senior Hamas figure in Lebanon, a top official said Tuesday. During an interview with MSNBC, Mark Regev, who is a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said "Israel has not taken responsibility for this attack. But whoever did it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state. It was not an attack even on Hezbollah," Regev said.
Meanwhile, a former ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, praised Israeli security agencies for the “assassination” of Arouri and Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari skirted a question from a reporter on the death of the senior Hamas leader.
Israeli officials celebrate attack on al-Arouri
The strike is already being hailed as a victory by some of the members of this coalition government, despite a directive from the cabinet secretary that they shouldn’t talk about it publicly.
We’ve heard from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying “let all the enemies perish”. We’ve heard Likud party member Danny Danon saying that he’s praised the Israeli security forces. And this is despite the Israelis still not officially confirming that they’ve carried out this strike.
Israeli finance minister claims all of Israel’s enemies will "perish"
In a seemingly a veiled reference to the killing of a senior Hamas leader on Tuesday, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on his official social media platforms that all of Israel’s enemies will “perish.”
His comment comes after Hamas said Tuesday that one of its senior officials had been killed in an attack in southern Beirut. Saleh Al-Arouri was a prominent Palestinian political and military leader whom Israel considers one of the key founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, in the occupied West Bank.
US congressman hails killing of al-Arouri
Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican, called the assassination of the Hamas leader in Beirut a “very big deal”. “If I were any Hamas leader right now, whether you’re in Turkey, Beirut or elsewhere, I would not sleep well at night,” Waltz told Fox News. “The Israelis will hunt them down.”
Under NATO’s collective defence treaty, an attack on Turkish soil would be akin to an assault on the US itself.
Protest in Ramallah against the killing of Saleh al-Arouri
Al-Arouri’s killing is ‘an act of terrorism’: Haniyeh
Haniyeh called the killing a “craven assassination”, a “brutal aggression” and a “blatant crime that demonstrates, once again, the brutality that is carried out by the occupation against our people”.
“It is also a violation of Lebanese sovereignty – one that represents an expansion of the scope of the Israeli aggression against our people and our nation,” he said. “The occupation is responsible for any repercussions.”
Hezbollah says attacked gathering of Israeli troops
The evening attack on the eastern side of the Lebanese-Israeli border was the first by Hezbollah since the killing of al-Arouri in Beirut. Hezbollah said it targeted a unit of Israeli soldiers “with the appropriate weapons”, killing and injuring its members.
Lebanon to submit complaint against Israel to the UN
The Lebanese government has said that it will submit a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over what it called a “blatant” Israeli strike in the capital city of Beirut. In a statement on Tuesday the government condemned “new Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty”.
‘Israel wants this escalation’
Tariq Kenney-Shawa, US policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank, says Israel has made it clear that it is “resolved to going to war” with Hezbollah to secure its northern areas and prolong the conflict, along with Netanyahu’s political life.
“This kind of kills two birds with one stone for Israel. In addition to the assassination of a top Hamas leader, Hezbollah will be forced to decide whether to live up to their promise that assassinations in Lebanon would be a red line. If they do, Israel gets the war it’s craving; if they don’t, then Hezbollah looks weak and doesn’t wield the same deterrence power it once did,” Kenney-Shawa told Al Jazeera in an email.
Another distraction from the ongoing genocide, meanwhile in Gaza
‘Stop bombing Gaza,’ US senator says
Elizabeth Warren has hit out at the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
“Netanyahu & his right-wing war cabinet have created a humanitarian catastrophe, killing thousands of Palestinian civilians. Israel needs leadership that will bring the hostages home, not wage months of war,” the progressive senator said in a social media post. “Stop bombing Gaza. Resume the cease-fire. Work toward a permanent peace.”
WHO chief condemns Israeli attack on Khan Younis hospital
Tedros Ghebreyesus said that he deplored the attack on the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRSC)-run al-Amal Hospital, saying that it severely damaged the PRCS training centre located in the complex. The head of the WHO added that the organisation’s staffers had visited the facility to examine the damage following the attack on Tuesday. He said they “witnessed extensive damage and displacement of civilians”.
“Today’s bombings are unconscionable,” Ghebreyesus said. “Gaza’s health system is already on its knees, with health and aid workers continuously stymied in their efforts to save lives due to the hostilities.”
The Israeli attack killed at least five civilians, including a five-day-old baby, the PRCS said.
‘Everyone in Gaza is hungry’: UN agencies
The latest warnings from the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians and the UN World Food Programme have highlighted the threat of starvation and disease in heavily built-up areas, where tens of thousands of people have fled intense bombing campaigns in the besieged enclave’s north and centre.
“Everyone in Gaza is hungry! Skipping meals is the norm, and each day is a desperate search for sustenance,” WFP said in a post on X. “People often go the entire day and night without eating. Adults go hungry so children can eat.”
More than a million people are now seeking safety in the already overcrowded southern city of Rafah, according to UNRWA, with hundreds of thousands sleeping in the open with inadequate clothing or materials to keep out the cold.
Palestinian Health Ministry: Respiratory and skin diseases continue to spread in Gaza amid humanitarian crisis
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in West Bank has provided its latest update on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Its information is draw from data supplied by hospitals and other sources in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry cautions that obtaining accurate data is difficult given how many people are now living in the streets. The latest update says:
- 1.93 million people are now displaced in Gaza, of whom some 1.2 million are registered at UN facilities across the territory.
- Nine out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning but the ministry says it has no information about health provision in central and northern Gaza.
- The average bed occupancy in those functioning hospitals was 351%.
- Respiratory and skin diseases continue to spread.
- There are nearly 200,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, more than 130,000 cases of diarrhea, and more than 50,000 cases of scabies and lice. It said the combination of being forcibly displaced and cold weather aggravated the risk of illnesses.
- The ministry also echoed assessments by the United Nations and NGOs working in Gaza about the extent of food security, now estimated to be affecting almost the entire population. It estimated that 378,000 people were at a “catastrophic” level of food insecurity.
